http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/2602/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/38044/ 2011-12-01T00:00:00Z This paper shows how 6 large oil companies express their identity by using 2 messaging patterns in managing legitimacy and distinctiveness. In the first pattern (aiming at legitimacy), companies focus on transparency, sincerity and consistency to build understanding and acceptance among stakeholders. In the second pattern (aimed at distinctiveness) companies take a more provocative standpoint in a public debate to facilitate competitive advantage. We develop a theoretical framework and propositions explaining when and how oil companies adopt 1 of the 2 patterns depending on their existing reputation, experienced institutional pressures and their organizational identity. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/17171/ 2009-11-01T00:00:00Z Strategically aligned behaviour (SAB), i.e. employee action that is consistent with the company's strategy, is of vital importance to companies. This study provides insights into the way managers could promote such behaviour among employees (who can be managers as well) by stimulating employee motivation, by informing employees, and by stimulating the development of their capabilities. The results of surveys conducted in three organizations suggest that, first, perceived efforts by management aimed at motivating and informing employees (both managers and non-managers), and at developing their capabilities, each are related to SAB. Second, among the perceived efforts to stimulate motivation among employees, providing a rationale for the strategy and an open communication climate have a stronger relationship with SAB than participation in decision making and supportiveness. Third, the perceptions of the different types of managerial effort are related to each other. For this reason, the efforts have direct as well as indirect relationships to SAB. Fourth, each of the perceived efforts seems to be complementary to the others, in the sense that the relationship of one type of effort to SAB is stronger when other types of effort are perceived to be higher. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/39996/ 2009-09-01T00:00:00Z If your company is forced to issue a financial restatement, how can the right managerial behaviour help to minimise the damage to corporate reputation? http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12903/ 2008-08-01T00:00:00Z Strategically aligned behaviour (SAB), i.e., employee action that is consistent with the company’s strategy, is of vital importance to companies. This study provides insights into the way managers can promote such behaviour among employees by stimulating employee motivation and by informing employees, and by stimulating the development of their capabilities. The results of surveys conducted in three organisations suggest that, first, efforts by management aimed at motivating and informing employees (both managers and non-managers), and at developing their capabilities, each have an influence on SAB. Second, among the efforts to stimulate motivation among employees, providing a rationale for the strategy and an open communication climate have a stronger effect than participation in decision making and supportiveness. Third, the perceptions of the different types of managerial efforts influence each other. For this reason, the efforts have direct as well as indirect effects on SAB. Fourth, each of the efforts acts as a necessary condition for SAB to occur. Finally, the effect of informing efforts appears to be stronger for managerial employees than for non-managerial employees, and also for employees who have a better understanding of the organisation’s strategy. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20291/ 2007-09-01T00:00:00Z This paper investigates under what conditions a good corporate social responsibility (CSR) can compensate for a relatively poor corporate ability (CA) (quality), and vice versa. The authors conducted an experiment among business administration students, in which information about a financial services company’s CA and CSR was provided. Participants indicated their preferences for the company’s products, stocks, and jobs. The results show that for stock and job preferences, a poor CA can be compensated by a good CSR. For product preferences, a poor CA could not be compensated by a good CSR, at least when people thought that CA is personally relevant to them. Furthermore, a poor CSR could be compensated by a good CA for product, stocks, and job preferences. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10067/ 2007-05-10T00:00:00Z In recent years it has become increasingly important for companies to ensure strategically aligned behaviour, i.e., employee actions that are consistent with the company’s strategy. This study provides insights into the way companies can stimulate such behaviour through motivating and informing their employees, and by providing them with the necessary capabilities. The results of surveys conducted in three organisations suggest that motivating, informing, and providing the necessary capabilities are essential conditions for strategically aligned behaviour to occur; however, this only holds when a company has not sufficiently engaged in one or more of these practices in the past. For example, in the case that employees have already been sufficiently informed about the company’s strategy, it would be of greater benefit to then reduce efforts to inform them and increase efforts to motivate and develop capabilities. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/39997/ 2006-08-01T00:00:00Z The incidence of companies restating their financial results has recently been increasing steadily each year. This has resulted in the public trust in large companies being eroded, and in some cases, most notably Enron, the restatement has triggered the company's downfall. Corporate collapse is not always the result however. Companies can to some extent control the damage that a restatement inflicts on their market value. In this article, we outline which factors can aggravate this damage, and which actions can alleviate it. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12124/ 2006-03-01T00:00:00Z The goal of this study is to offer a methodology for empirically assessing the core values of an organization. It uses means–end analysis in order to determine those values that organization members manifest in their daily behaviour, and which are not just espoused ‘truisms’. The method is based on the sense members of an organization make of what they do. Sensemaking follows a means–end pattern, through which individual actions converge into central values. The values most central in this means–end structure are the core values that effectively motivate organization members in their job. Our method works in two steps: first, exploratory interviews using the laddering-technique establish the values potentially most central to the organization; then, a follow-up survey assesses the complete pattern of means–end relations among the potential values. Validity tests show that the most central values derived from this survey data are the most important to organization members. These values are also the most stable over time. We make a comparison of this method with traditional value surveys and we discuss its implications for the study of organizational behaviour. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6996/ 2005-10-18T00:00:00Z Over the last years, it has become increasingly important for companies to create strategic business alignment (SBA), i.e., the degree to which employees understand, support, and are able to execute the companies’ strategic initiatives. This study provides insights into the way companies can create SBA through employee communication. Specifically, we examined the influence of different dimensions of employee communication on employee attitudes toward their company’s strategic initiatives, and on employee behavior regarding the strategic initiatives. The results show that especially management communication, communication about strategic initiatives, and the communication climate within an organization are of vital importance to stimulate SBA. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12125/ 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z This study investigates the effect of corporate brand dominance--that is, the visibility of a company's corporate brand in product communications--on the relationship between corporate associations and product evaluations. The results show that corporate brand dominance determines the degree to which associations with the company's corporate ability and corporate social responsibility influence product attitudes, as well as the nature of the moderating effects of fit and involvement. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10959/ 2004-12-01T00:00:00Z We draw on a detailed grounded theory study of the reactions of Dutch food firms to the recent introduction of genetically modified foods to inductively identify the capabilities that firms develop in response to reputational threats. Central to the view on capabilities we propose are the decision rules organizations use to link individual actions to organizational outcomes. Four reputation management capabilities were identified, which were aimed at, respectively: (1) engaging in a cooperative dialogue with relevant stakeholders; (2) presenting the organizational point of view favourably in the eyes of external beholders; (3) avoiding organizational ‘ownership’ of critical reputational threats; and (4) communicating meaningfully with affected parties, even under conditions of high adversity and time-pressure. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12126/ 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z A substantial number of academic studies are devoted to the conceptualization and measurement of corporate reputation. However, it is not fully clear which associations (perceptions) can be seen as most dominant in corporate reputation research. This paper provides an overview of studies that discuss the different types of associations people may hold regarding companies. The conclusion is that there are three main conceptual streams in this literature. The first stream distinguishes different types of associations on the basis of different social expectations that people have regarding companies. The second stream distinguishes associations on the basis of different corporate personality traits that people attribute to companies. Finally, the third stream distinguishes associations on the basis of different reasons that people have to trust or distrust a company. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2666/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper develops a management judgment tool to predict the effectiveness of a corporate advertising campaign (CAC). With this instrument, IMPACT, the effectiveness of CACs can be predicted by obtaining the reactions of internal stakeholders of a company towards the campaign. Using the instrument, CACs will be assessed on three criteria: creativity, professionalism and consistency. The exploratory empirical studies show that in order to educate stakeholders, CACs should score high on professionalism. For changing attitudes, creativity is important. Finally, to change behaviour both the professionalism and the consistency of the campaign are important. Future research should validate the exploratory findings reported in this paper. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/192/ 2002-04-17T00:00:00Z This study shows that different types of associations regarding a company have different effects on customers' product evaluations. Associations with a company's ability influenced quality perceptions of products marketed by the company's subsidiaries, but not intentions to actually buy those products. In contrast, corporate social responsibility associations influenced product purchase intentions, but not quality perceptions. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10974/ 2002-03-01T00:00:00Z This study examines the central contention ofinstrumental stakeholder theory— namely, that firms that breed trust-based, cooperative ties with their stakeholders will have a competitive advantage over firms that do not.Acase study of the introduction ofgenetically modified food products in the Netherlands provided the basis for the empirical analysis. The results support the instrumental stakeholder management thesis, showing that stakeholder integration, through the development ofmutually enforcing relationships with external parties, may result in both organizational learning and societal legitimacy. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12128/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Discusses the results of the steps that were taken before the actual measurement of the reputation quotient (RQ)-data in the nominations phase in the Netherlands. Explanation of some characteristics of the Dutch business world; Important companies in the Netherlands; Results of the RQ nominations of 2000 and 2001. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12129/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Introduces a series of articles on the development of the reputation quotient (RQ) for corporations, and the launch of the Global RQ Project, from the January 2002 issue of the 'Corporate Reputation Review.' http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15133/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Describes the Strategy, Internal organization, Driving forces, External prestige and Corporate branding strategy (SIDEC) model that suggests under which conditions business unit managers must be willing to support a uniform corporate branding strategy. Role of business managers in the decision-making involved in corporate branding; Information on corporate brand endorsement models; Features of the SIDEC model. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2668/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Describes the Strategy, Internal organization, Driving forces, External prestige and Corporate branding strategy (SIDEC) model that suggests under which conditions business unit managers must be willing to support a uniform corporate branding strategy. Role of business managers in the decision-making involved in corporate branding; Information on corporate brand endorsement models; Features of the SIDEC model. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10982/ 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Dit onderzoek gaat in op de centrale stelling van de instrumentele stakeholdertheorie. Deze houdt in dat bedrijven die een hechte band ontwikkelen met hun belangengroepen, een concurrentievoordeel hebben ten opzichte van bedrijven die een dergelijke band niet hebben ontwikkeld. Een casestudy van de introductie van genetisch gemodificeerde voedingsmiddelen in Nederland vormt de basis van onze empirische analyse. De resultaten onderbouwen de stelling waarop instrumenteel stakeholdermanagement gebaseerd is. Ze laten zien dat de integratie van belangengroepen via wederzijds versterkende relaties zowel kan resulteren in leerresultaten voor het bedrijf zelf als in maatschappelijke legitimiteit. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12132/ 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Employees' organizational identification was measured in three organizations. Results show that employee communication augments perceived external prestige and helps explain organizational identification. Communication climate plays a central role, mediating the impact on organizational identification of the content of communication. The relative impacts of employee communication and perceived external prestige on organizational identification differ between organizations; this was attributed to differences in reputation of the companies. Consequences of the results for the management of organizational identification are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/60/ 2000-12-04T00:00:00Z This study presents a method to establish empirically what drives organization members in their day-to-day behavior. The method starts from the sense employees make of their own actions. The approach consists of two steps: qualitative laddering interviews to determine the most central means and ends that play a role in the sensemaking of organization members, and a follow-up survey to examine in depth the organizational means-end structure. The method was validated by relating the results to independently observed indicators of what guides organization members in their behavior. Apart from the deeper insight it provides in the forces that drive day-to-day behavior in an organization, the method also provides management with a practical tool for addressing employee motivation and for developing credible communication toward stakeholders. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10/ 2000-03-21T00:00:00Z Employees' Organizational Identification (OI) is measured in a customer service organization. Particularly the effects of employee communication and perceived external prestige (PEP) on OI were evaluated. Results show that employee communication affects OI more strongly than PEP. One aspect of employee communication, the communication climate, appears to play a central role: it mediates the impact on OI of the content of employee communication. These results suggest that the importance of how an organization communicates internally is even more vital than the question what is being communicated. Consequences of the results for managing and synchronizing internal and external communication are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12133/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z This article reviews empirical studies of organizational identity. It examines how the construct has been operationalized and measured. Most studies rely on Albert and Whetten's (1985) definition of organizational identity, but differ in their interpretations of key dimensions, particularly in whether they rely on direct perceptions of organization members or more indirect measures to capture features of organizational identity. We suggest that the difference between main approaches can be bridged by further exploring the link between what organization members do, and how they perceive the identity of their organization http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11015/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z Companies are often confronted with important strategic issues, such as environmental concerns. Generally, they react in one of two basic ways: buffering the enterprise or bridging the issue. Insight into the factors determining the choice between those two generic strategies is important for managers. Three recent and mutually related analytical frameworks from corporate communication and management theory are discussed and exemplified by the Shell Brent Spar case. This case shows the development of two generic environmental strategies over time: initial buffering of the firm from external stakeholders, and later a shift towards a bridging strategy. On the basis of our theoretical and empirical analysis, it appears that top management's attitude regarding cooperation with external stakeholders plays a key role in choosing bridging versus buffering strategies http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12135/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z In this article, we describe key features and assess the strengths and weaknesses of six methods that can be used to measure corporate images. We explore those features in two empirical settings, and show that closed methods produce comparable, albeit relatively limited, results. In contrast, open methods generate qualitative results that are informative and rich in detail. We suggest that managers and researchers rely on open methods for exploratory analysis of corporate images and then use closed methods to verify corporate associations quantitatively. Ultimately, we suggest that the choice of method depends on a combination of theoretical and strategic considerations. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11036/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11037/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z Het zogenaamde PER+ project had betrekking op de grondige vernieuwing (upgrading) van de oude Pernis-raffinaderij van de Komnklijke/Shell- Groep, meteen de grootste raffinaderij in Europa. Aan de strategischebesluitvormings- en communicatieprocessen rond dit project werd in juni 1997 zelfs een wetenschappelijk congres gewijd. Het project bleek namelijk een typisch voorbeeld te zijn dat illustreerde hoe, via een open dialoog met de belangrijkste externe stakeholders, het management van de onderneming erin kan slagen op succesvolle wijze strategische-investeringsprojecten (de raffinaderij moderniseren) te realiseren. In dit artikel doen de professoren Van den Bosch en Van Riel een en ander voor ons uit de doeken. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12136/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12137/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z Articulates the main trends in the literature on corporate identity; defines corporate identity; explains the rationale for corporate identity management and describes the main methods used to reveal the desired and the actual corporate identity. Particular reference will be made to two recently developed models used to reveal an organization's identity: Balmer's Affinity Audit (BAA) and The Rotterdam Organizational Identification Test (ROIT). Concludes that while empirical research on the area will increasingly be multidisciplinary marketing will, nonetheless, play a pivotal role in an understanding of corporate identity. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12139/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z Van Riel provides an overview of research in corporate communication, focusing on achievements found in the international academic literature in both communication and business school disciplines. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12140/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z De recente geruchtmakende opsplitsingen van enkele vooraanstaande concerns zijn vooral gepresenteerd als acties die voortkomen uit zorg voor de aandeelhouderswaarde. In deze bijdrage wordt gesteld, dat zij eerder het gevolg zijn van het spaak lopen van al te uitbundige acquisitiestrategieën uit het verleden. De negatieve effecten daarvan konden gedurende lange tijd worden gecompenseerd door een flinke dosis marktmacht. Door toenemende mondiale concurrentie is deze marktmacht afgenomen. Aan de noodzakelijk geworden herstructureringen wordt helaas opnieuw vorm gegeven door middel van fusies en acquisities. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/11049/ 1996-01-01T00:00:00Z Gelijk hebben is niet altijd hetzelfde als gelijk krijgen, zoals de Koninklijke/Shell Groep recent ondervond bij de discussies over het olieopslag- en laadstation Brent Spar. Ondanks een degelijke voorbereiding en een rationele onderbouwing van het uiteindelijke besluit de Brent Spar af te zinken in de diepe wateren voor de kust van Schotland, bleek het bedrijf te stuiten op een niet te negeren blok van externe stakeholders. Dat later Greenpeace, een van de heftigste criticasters, openbaar erkende onjuiste informatie te hebben verstrekt, heeft nauwelijks de financiële en immateriële schade voor de onderneming kunnen herstellen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12162/ 1993-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12145/ 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z In 1988 the Rotterdam School of Management and Fairfield University conducted jointly a survey in twenty-one banks and twenty insurance companies in Europe and the U.S. The purpose was to examine corporate communication practices in comparable service industries on two continents. Central questions were: How is corporate communication organized; how are resources allocated; what strategies are used; what values are reflected in different communication activities such as advertising, public relations, communication relations, and employee communication; how are messages shaped for diverse audiences and customer groups; and how much importance is attached to corporate identification symbols. This article reports on the European results of that survey. The complete report is published in van Riel & Nedela, Profiles in Corporate Communication in Financial Institutions, Eburon, Delft, 1989. Dr. van Riel is director of the Corporate Communication Centre, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.